Coming up soon on KUCI 88.9fm, an incredibly bold and wise woman, mother, author, and mental health advocate, Miriam Feldman, the author of the debut memoir HE CAME IN WITH IT: A Portrait of Motherhood and Madness (June 23, Turner).
When her son teenage Nick was diagnosed with schizophrenia, Miriam’s frenetic but happy life as an artist in Los Angeles was upended by one catastrophe after another. In her tireless search for help and answers, Miriam learns about the shocking shortfalls of our mental health system and the destructive impact of mental illness stigma, shame and isolation.
He Came In With It isn’t just a thoughtful critique or rallying call that breathes new life into the fight for mental healthcare reform;it is also a tender, relatable, and humorous account of one woman’s attempt to be, quite simply, a good parent. Feldman’s memoir is beautifully written and her bold, brave, relentless love comes through in each page.
Praise for HE CAME IN WITH IT:
· "We watched Miriam become a five-star general in a war against the insidious adversary which threatened to claim the life of her Beautiful Boy. In He Came in With It, she shows us the way through an unimaginable terror to the light of hope. She is our Hero." ―LaTanya and Samuel L. Jackson, actors
· “He Came in With It blazes open the heart of motherhood with devastating honesty and dazzling beauty. This book is about what lives between a mother and son who struggle to navigate mental illness. Turns out what lives there is heart and art, messy, chaotic, traumatic and breathtakingly beautiful. I would follow Miriam anywhere. She is a heart warrior and an art mother who shows us how to endure, and thrive." ―Lidia Yuknavitch, national bestselling author
· “...a great gift, a comfort and a source of strength...Mimi Feldman is the one you want as your mentor, your guide.”—Janet Fitch, New York Times best-selling author of White Oleander
· “…a cleansing narrative that should inspire mothers―and other caregivers―to rise up, unite, and breathe hot new life into the drooping cause of mental healthcare reform.”―Ron Powers, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and New York Times best-selling author
While the book certainly deals with the difficult topic of mental illness, Miriam delivers with the perfect balance of humor, heart, and self-reflection. She has written an interesting essay “How Having a Son with Schizophrenia Prepared me for a Global Pandemic” for Scary Mommy, if interested in checking it out for some more background and perspective. He Came In With It is about the power of community to hold each other up when the unexpected and tumultuous occurs. It’s about the individual’s quest for some sort of stability amidst all the chaos, a refusal to bow to the stigma around a disease that is often considered the black sheep of mental illness.
